In recent years, the expectation for solar cells that convert solar energy into electric energy as the energy source for the next generation has increased significantly from the standpoint of protecting global environment. Among the various types of solar cells employing compound semiconductor and/or organic material, solar cells employing silicon crystal have become the main stream.
Solar cells that are now most fabricated in quantity and available on the market are the double-sided electrode type solar cells based on a configuration in which an n electrode is formed at the surface corresponding to the sunlight incident side (light receiving face), and a p electrode is formed at the surface opposite to the light receiving face side (back surface).
In addition, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-310830 (Patent Literature 1), for example, discloses a back electrode type solar cell absent of an electrode at the light receiving face of the solar cell, and having the n electrode and p electrode formed only at the back surface of the solar cell.
The electric energy that can be utilized by a single back electrode type solar cell of the configuration disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is limited. Therefore, an approach to electrically connect a plurality of back electrode type solar cells of the aforementioned configuration to obtain a solar cell module is now under study.